Beckett's Bad Day
by bugsandroses
Summary: A phone call about a body always interrupts just at the wrong time. What would happen if Rick and Kate were alone for five days? This story is set towards the end of season one around Little Girl Lost
1. Chapter 1

Detective Kate Beckett slammed down her phone. The captain from narcotics said that a dead body was found on the way to their scene. His squad had been investigating reports of a new drug manufacturing warehouse. He saw dead a man on the road to the suspected location. He also told her that it didn't look like the death was drug related.

"Yeah right…..Esposito! We have another wild goose chase. Lanie's already on her way, let's go."

"Where are we going?" Richard Castle walked into the bullpen carrying two cups of coffee, one for him and the other for Beckett. She nodded her thanks and took a healthy swallow from the cup and broke off a piece of the bear claw that he brought for her every morning. It was a crappy breakfast, well brunch but it was better than nothing. "We have a case? We have a dead body?"

Kate rolled her eyes at his exuberance; sometimes he acted even younger than is usual 9 years old. "We have a body but I doubt it was a murder. Narcotics never wants to deal with the casualties from the war on drugs. They just want the big headlines and press coverage." She grabbed her jacket and muttered as they left the precinct… "Nothing but a bunch of glory whores."

"Somebody got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning." Castle quickly shut up when Kate's eyes shot him a death glare. He warily got in the car with her, as Esposito and Ryan got into a second car.

"Some of us probably got a full and long night of sleep. I was here doing paperwork for hours after you left last night. My new neighbor keeps stealing my paper. I haven't had a chance to do any laundry or food shopping. This is my last clean outfit for work. Let's just say I was hoping for an easy day and a chance to go home on time for once. This new case will be at least six hours of paperwork and another unsolved case."

Arriving at the scene, Kate looked around quickly. She walked to the body but did not notice that the second car that held the rest of her squad was missing. "Hey Lanie, what have we got? What's with the hazmat suit?"

"Kate, NO! Oh damn, now it's too late."

"What?"

"I put out a broadcast that this area is off limits. We have a potential biohazard here. Didn't you hear my message?"

"Oh, great! My battery must be dead. What else can go wrong today?"

"How does the plague grab you? You and writer boy are going to have to go to isolation."

"No! The joke is over and it is so not funny."

"Do you see me laughing? Honey, whatever killed this man has nothing to do with some bad blow. You need to go with these guys to the hospital. You will have to stay isolated and observed for at least five days. Hey girl friend, don't look at me that way, those are not my rules, talk to the CDC."

It was the worried look on her friend's face, what she could see of it through the mask Lanie was wearing, that finally made the reality of the situation hit home for Beckett.

"I remember signing papers saying I couldn't sue the city if I was hurt, shot or killed but I don't remember anything about the plague." Kate turned to look at Castle in horror as she realized just who she would be confined in a small room with all alone for the next five days.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few hours were a blur of frenzied activity and intense embarrassment for them both. The hazmat team brought Beckett and Castle to St. Vincent's Hospital. Kate was shocked when they were both pushed into a makeshift decontamination shower and told to strip.

"Can't we at least get some music to strip by." Rick had already removed his shirt and was removing his belt as a plain white sheet was stretched across the shower area in an attempt to give Kate some privacy.

The water was not exactly warm but the chemicals in the water forced them both to keep their eyes closed. Afterward Kate was freezing, she eagerly wrapped herself in a few towels. They were given scrubs to wear; Kate was amazed at how at home Castle looked in them. She was amused as she watched him try to negotiate with the men from hazmat to save his Rolex. She knew it wasn't the money; he had bought the overpriced watch with his first royalty check. It was his good luck charm. It stopped being funny for Kate when they took her father's watch and her mother's ring and placed them both in the pile to be destroyed with all their clothes. A stunned and speechless Beckett was escorted inside as Castle still argued.

After endless examinations, various tests and an armful of shots, Kate was finally brought in a silly hazmat suit to a small, dark basement isolation ward. Pulling off the hot and smelly suit made of violent blue plastic, she was startled to hear a disembodied voice coming from the wall area. The voice informed her that food had been ordered and would arrive shortly. Beckett saw the vague outline of someone outside the darkly tinted glass as she looked around the drab, sterile room that would be her home for the next week. There were six beds, three on each side of the room and a curtained area at the back that held an ugly shower and toilet.

Yup, all the comforts of home, if your home was the county lockup! Kate ran a hand through her hair, it felt stiff and sticky from whatever chemicals she had been sprayed with. Beckett walked into the shower area but there were no towels, soap or shampoo and also no toilet paper. It had been a rotten day so far and it kept getting worse. Her sadness and disbelief at the loss of her treasured keepsakes was quickly turning to anger. She wanted to scream or hit something but she knew it would change nothing and she absolutely refused to cry.

Beckett prowled around the small room to help expend some of her pent up frustrations. After a few minutes, she walked back to one of the beds and sat on it experimentally, it was much too hard. She would have a tough time trying to get any sleep on that thing. However, she was grateful that there were so many beds; at least she wouldn't have to sleep right next to Castle. Suddenly, Kate realized that the man, or pain in the neck, still had not arrived to the isolation room yet.

"Hello...Hello, can anyone hear me?"

"There is a button for the intercom on the wall, you don't have to shout. Just speak normally."

Speak normally, yeah right! I may have the plague and I am going to be trapped for a week in a small enclosed space with a man who acts like a 9 year old sex fiend on a sugar rush.

"What happened to the man that was with me. His name is Rick Castle. Is he OK?"

"I can find out, your food is here. Just open the panel beside the intercom."

"Thanks, hey I really need a shower. Can I get some towels and soap or shampoo? Oh yeah, there is no toilet paper in here."

"I've already ordered all that from supply. Sorry, we haven't used this room in a long time, this outbreak was unexpected."

Did she say outbreak? "Who else got infected?"

"DEA said there were six men that jumped off some ship from Columbia or Somalia."

"There are only six beds in here...Oh, they didn't make it, did they? Like the man I found, they all died."

Getting no answer, Kate removed a tray of food but she was no longer hungry...not that the food looked all that appetizing. She took a sip of the coffee and spit it back into the cup. It tasted like the slug that she used to drink at the 12th precinct before Castle had donated an espresso machine to the squad room. So many things had changed since he had come into her life. She was getting more concerned about where he was and if he was all right.

She walked around the small enclosed space again but there was nothing to do, nothing to read, no TV or radio. Putting the untouched food tray back behind the panel, Kate selected a bed and stretched out. She might as well try to get some rest for now. Once Castle showed up, she knew that he would talk non-stop for probably the whole week. Her eyes kept going to the doorway, as more minutes passed her worry grew.


	3. Chapter 3

Having gotten practically no sleep the previous night, Kate tried to get comfortable and eventually began to yawn. She did not fight it as her eyes began to close. Some time later the muffled sound of a man shouting in anger pulled her from a nap. She could make out the sound of two other men trying to reason with and calm down the angry man. Even through the thick glass walls, she heard the sound of a scuffle. Out of force of habit, she reached for her gun which was not there. Suddenly, the doorway into the outer isolation room opened and a big man covered in a hazmat suit was thrust into the room, stumbled and fell.

Kate almost giggled because the man in the silly blue plastic suit had a lot of trouble just getting to his feet; he looked like an overgrown teletubby. Once he got up, the man pounded on the door and began to shout. "I want a damned phone and I want it now! This whole quarantine scenario is a pile of...crap. No writer, no good writer would ever stoop to this type of hokey bullshit! I have to make a call, a very important call. Look, just buy a cheap disposable phone and slip it to me. After I am done you can burn the damn thing for all I care. I can pay for it. Hell, I can buy and sell this whole damn hospital."

Kate was shocked to realize the man shouting was Rick Castle but she quickly recovered. "Need to cancel a hot date for tonight or to call your bookie, Castle?"

"Stay out of this, Kate!" He directed the terse comment in her general direction but did not turn to look at her and pounded on the door again. "Hello? Someone answer me! Come on, I know the mayor. Whatever you guys need or want, I can get it for you. I also know the Governor. I don't like him but I know him. If it's the money, don't worry I can pay you back. I'll give you a thousand dollars for a phone! I will pay you once I get out of this "Outbreak" nightmare. Really, I can pay. I'm Rick Castle, you know the author. Do the names Derek Storm or Nikki Heat ring any bells? Hello, is there anyone out there?"

Kate was startled to see the always genial and smiling Rick Castle pound on the door again in frustration. "Assholes!" He ripped off the hazmat suit from his body and kicked it into the corner of the inner isolation room. The scrub suit he had on was now soaked in sweat and he was breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon. "Damn it! Give some people a little power and they start to take themselves way too seriously."

"Temper tantrum over now?" Kate asked in an amused tone as she walked towards him.

"No!" Castle aimed a vicious kick at the door but the triple thick glass barely shook. "You want hokey, you got it!" He kicked again. "I want a phone or some other way to speak to someone outside of this room and I want it now or I'll break down this door."

Kate watched a crazy man who looked just like Richard Castle. The over the top actions she was used to but this intense anger was a side of him she had never seen before. The pissed off man, who shook the glass walls with a well practiced and executed karate kick, was not the gentle and often silly man she had worked with for nearly a year. Castle was always so happy go lucky, laid back and optimistic with his big, beautiful, blue, puppy-dog eyes and dopey grin. He usually acted more like a hormonal teenager with all his smutty thoughts and suggestive comments, than a twice divorced father of an amazing teenage daughter.

"Knock it off Castle or they will come in here and sedate you...Hey, that's not a bad idea or maybe some restraints. Keep this up and they will put you in a straight jacket."

She walked in front of him and stood between the door and the man wiping sweat from his face. "I realize that you are a rich, world famous author and are used to getting everything you want but whoever you have to call, will just have to wait. I am sure by now the police have notified our families. The press will have dug out the story and I am quite sure that Gina will alert the media for you."

"That's not why I need a phone."

"Who is so dammed important that you are acting like a lunatic? Barbara Walters?"

"MY DAUGHTER! I have to speak to Alexis. God only knows what the reporters have said about me on the news. If I don't call her, she will think that something is really wrong with me. My little girl will be so scared but she will have to pretend that everything is fine, to be strong and not upset my mother...AND ALL FOR NOTHING! This is such typical bureaucratic, cover your ass, politics as usual, vote grabbing horseshit!" He aimed a last kick at the door and collapsed on the floor holding his foot. "OWW! I kiss my baby goodnight, every night before she goes to bed or at least call her if I'm not home. Damn press, they have probably blown this all out of proportion, saying that I'm fighting for my life, near death or that I am dead. I have to let her know that I am OK...that I love her and miss her."

Kate was caught off guard; she was expecting him to say something about a hot card game or a hot date...not his daughter. "Rick, she knows that! I am sure Lanie or the Captain has gone to see Alexis and your mom. They will let them know that this is just a precaution on the off chance we are infected. Do you really want to take any chance of passing it on to her?"

Kate could see that the thought had not occurred to him. "No, you're right." Castle got up and limped to the nearest bed and sat on it in defeat. "Sorry, Kate!" He spoke louder, "I'm sorry, I'll behave. I just want to talk to my little girl...please?"

Author's note: Thanks to everyone that made this a favorite or left a review. I started this off with humor but I wrote this to show another side to Castle. I don't own him but I can dream


	4. Chapter 4

The pain in Rick's eyes had nothing to do with his hurt foot, it hit Kate hard and tears prickled her eyes. Suddenly she wanted to hold him in comfort. Instead she sat down beside him on the same bed. "She's not a little girl anymore, Castle. She is almost sixteen, she is a very smart and strong young lady."

"Did you know she went to a prom, my baby at a prom?"

"Yes, you asked me to run a check on her date, remember?"

"Which you wouldn't do for me."

"Castle, her date had just turned sixteen and he had no juvenile record."

Castle smiled to discover that she had actually checked for him. "I went with Alexis to pick out her dress. She looked so grown up. I wanted to somehow turn back time! Alexis is practically a woman now but she is still my baby. She has always been and always will be my baby. I don't care how old she is." He sighed sadly but he smiled at the memories of his daughter.

"I fell in love with my Alexis the minute she was put in my arms after she was born. Meredith didn't want to hold her. My wife was on the phone with her personal trainer, she wanted to get her body back in shape fast for a movie audition that was less than a month later. I found out afterwards that she had the doctor induce her labor two weeks early to make sure she was ready for that audition. How could a mother or any woman not want to hold the child she helped to create?" He grabbed a pillow to punch it.

"I was about to find out, Meredith was hardly the perfect mother or wife for that matter. We made an agreement when we discovered she was pregnant. I would care for Alexis and she would go back to work. As a rising young star, she could make more money that I could as a struggling writer. Everyone knew that she was cheating on me. Our marriage had become a Hollywood joke. Her friends were all so kind; they made sure I knew about every man that she slept with. That's when I started to write my first murder mystery."

"Oh my god! The drugged out hooker from Killing Time, and the nymphomaniac from Time to Die are both based on Meredith." Rick just winked but would not confirm it.

Kate was torn between the need to learn more and the fear that Rick would feel uncomfortable around her later but Castle just continued. "By the time I had finished my first novel, I wanted out of the marriage and out of LA. I just left, took Alexis and came to New York. I wanted to check on my mother but I also needed to find a publisher before I could ask for a divorce. Six months later her divorce attorney contacted me. He told me my wife would not contest the divorce or seek custody of Alexis, if I would waive any alimony from her. That was one agreement that attorney would later regret. Meredith was unable to change those terms very much when my books began to sell. She also has to ask for permission if she wants to see Alexis...not that she bothers to see her very often. My baby was the only good thing about my first marriage."

He looked so sad, Kate couldn't resist teasing him just a little in hopes that he might smile. "Except for deep fried Twinkies!"

He looked up startled but then smiled. "Hey, I'm not gay! No self respecting man will ever turn down mind blowing sex, even from an ex-wife. OK, Meredith can be fun and exciting in very small doses but a steady diet of deep fried Twinkies will kill you. Besides she usually only comes to see me now when she wants something and she is not above using Alexis to get what she wants."

"And Gina?"

"That was a whole other kind of stupid. She loved my work...I thought she loved me. I also thought that Alexis needed to have a mom. Little did I know when I married her, that wife number two hates kids. Gina just wanted me to get a leg up in the publishing world. What can I say, I was used!"

His comment reminded Kate of the Delgado case; a series of robberies that led to a woman's murder. Castle had a theory that a gang of thieves were using charity events to find their wealthy victims. To prove his point, he invited Kate to attend a charity event with him as his date, to set a trap for the killer. As she mingled in and among the rich and famous, another female guest came up to Kate, complimenting her for landing the "White Whale". Beckett quickly realized that the woman was referring to Rick. Until then, Beckett assumed that Castle just chased after anything with breasts. She never realized how many women threw themselves at him just hoping to be Mrs. Castle #3. He was rich, much younger than most millionaires and not bad looking…..oh, alright he was cute when he wasn't annoying. From what he just told her, Kate knew he had been hurt once and used at least once. It was no wonder he had a rather jaded view on love and marriage but not on children. In a typical Castle twist, he adored kids, his daughter most of all. Castle once made an offhand comment about the "many layers of Kate Beckett and that she was always surprising him." It seemed that the Richard Castle she once thought she knew was becoming more and more just a façade created for the press and public.

"Mr. Castle?" A woman's voice crackled out of the intercom and startled them both.

Puzzled, Rick looked around the room for the source of the sound. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry, no cell phone will work way down here but I can hold the phone on my desk up to the intercom. I'm not sure that it will work but if you'll give me the number to call, I can try."

"Yes! Great, thank you. The number is 212-555-7425." Kate pointed to the intercom on the wall. Castle walked over to stand beside it as he heard a phone start to ring. "It's a private line to our apartment. I had to put it in because the press and fans kept calling my home number at all hours of the day and night. Only my daughter and my mother have that number, so she will know it's me...Alexis, come on honey, please pick up, its daddy."

"Hello!" "Hello?" Both Martha and Alexis picked up an extension at the same time.

"Hey Pumpkin, I'm just calling to say goodnight to you and you too, Mother."

"Daddy?" Beckett was surprised to hear how young and scared Alexis sounded. She walked closer to Castle. Rick reached for Kate's hand. She watched his eyes close as if he was in pain.

"Hey baby, I was just calling to let you know no matter what the idiots on the news are saying. I am fine, so please don't worry. Kate is here with me and we are both OK. They don't want me to sue the city, so they came up with this whole quarantine thing. Hell of a publicity stunt, too bad Gina didn't think of it. I'll have to use this storyline in one of the next Nikki Heat books."

"Daddy, the other men...from the ship, they all died. The news said it was a plague ship."

"They were sick, honey, before they ever got on board. Kate and I never touched any of them and we were brought to the hospital and decontaminated immediately. They gave us all kinds of shots as a precaution but we are going to have to stay here for a few more days. So Mother, and this scares me more than the thought any plague ship, you are in charge until I can get out of here. No wild, drunken parties and luckily I locked the liquor cabinet before I left."

"Killjoy!" Martha knew that her son was deliberately trying to focus her granddaughter's attention onto other matters.

'Mother, the last time you had a few people over, I was scraping limes from the ceiling for days. Alexis, I will need you to keep an eye on her, so you have my permission to stay home from school until I can get out of here."

"Can I come to see you, please daddy?" I want to see you, know you really are OK. I can bring you your laptop so you can work...and some ice cream. Come on Dad, you know you can't survive a day without your two scoops."

Rick's grip on Kate's hand increased and she saw a tear fall from the corner of his eye. She could see that Rick did not know how to say no to his daughter.

"Please Alexis, no sugar for him. I am trapped in a very small room with your dad for the next few days, the last thing he needs is a sugar rush. I've already threatened to have him sedated."

Rick mouthed the words "thank you" and kissed her hand. "No honey, ice cream sounds really good for dessert but I need some food first, some decent food. What I wouldn't give for a hamburger from Remy's right now. I'll even skip dessert if I could get a chocolate shake and onion rings."

Kate's stomach growled in agreement. "Sounds good to me, make mine strawberry with fries."

"Richard dear, Michael is still here. He dropped me off some time ago but wouldn't leave. I can have him pick up something for you and Kate to eat. Did you need anything else, my darling?" Martha was concerned for her son but did not want to upset Alexis any further. The teenager was trying to be strong but was very close to tears.

"Yes, Mother but please don't send the lap top. Something, anything to read would be appreciated and maybe a deck of cards, so I can teach Kate how to win at poker."

"On its way, kiddo! And Kate, I am so glad you are there to try and keep him out of trouble."

"I'll give it my best shot, Martha but you know how he is. Can you include some skin lotion for me?"

"Will do, but you deserve a medal instead."

"Why thank you Mother, please put Alexis back on. Hey sweetie, just because you get to skip school, I don't want you to stay up too late. You can watch one chick flick and then into bed. Consider yourself hugged until I can do it in person. I love you, baby."

"Love you Dad, Goodnight! Night, Kate."


	5. Chapter 5

Kate and Rick heard the sound of the phone line disconnecting and he pulled her into a desperate hug. Beckett let him hold her for a minute but then gently pulled away.

"Not a bad performance there, Barrymore."

"Well, I am the bastard son of world famous actress, Martha Rogers."

Beckett was stopped by the trace of anger and bitterness she heard in his voice. Kate and every other Richard Castle fan knew that there was no father listed on his birth certificate. Was he still bothered by that fact after all these years? Kate wanted to ask him about that and had so many other questions but she knew right now his emotions were all churned up. He had already told her more about himself in the last half hour than he had in the last six months. She decided to change the subject. "How long do you think it will take for the food to get here? I'm starving!"

"Remy's is about ten minutes from my place. It takes about 20-30 minutes to get an order to go and then another ten to drive here...If I know Michael, and after ten years as my driver I do, he'll probably be here in 30 minutes or less. What do you want to do until dinner arrives?" Rick Castle wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Kate rolled her eyes at his usual antics but was glad that his somber mood had improved or perhaps he felt that he had revealed too much of the "Real Rick". He had put back on the mask of his public persona to protect himself.

"Just remember this is a glass box and there are people outside watching us. "

"Wow, that sounds kinky! Let's give them a show they'll never forget. What do you say?"

"I say, forget it! Besides, I desperately need a shower."

"I'd be happy to wash your back or anything else….."

"I'm sure you would but I think I can handle it. First, we need to get some towels and soap."

"And work out the sleeping arrangements?"

"Oh, I've already worked them out. This is mine and that is yours." She pointed to the bed furthest from hers.

"Why Detective Beckett, you wound me. Do you actually think I would take advantage of this distressing situation to have my way with you?"

"Yeah, I do, in a New York minute, Castle! Just remember, I may not have my gun but I am also trained in weaponless defense, so back off."

Just then the intercom crackled back into life. "Your supplies are here."

Kate opened the panel to find some clean scrubs, towels, shampoo, soap and toilet paper. There were also two small plastic bags with a trial size deodorant, toothpaste and a toothbrush.

Rick reached over her shoulder and took one of the plastic bags. "Blue is for boys."

"Fine, since you got first pick on colors, I have dibs on the shower...no peeking Castle!"

"You're no fun at all."

"That's right!" Beckett gathered her things and walked back to the curtained area. She shot him a warning glare and pulled the curtains closed with more force than necessary. Kate turned on the ancient shower and let the water run for a few minutes to get some warmer water. She was tempted to check that Castle wasn't lurking just outside the curtain but with a shrug she quickly undressed and gratefully washed away the horrid smell of the decontamination spray. Kate stayed under the hot water a lot longer than usual. It felt so good to be clean again and the hot water slowly relaxed the tense muscles in her neck and shoulder.

"Food is here!" Castle's call snapped Kate back to reality. She had been thinking about the many side of the man in the other room. Author, Son, Father, Poker Player, Playboy...and her Partner. His usual cocky banter so different from the man she watched earlier during his call to Alexis. He was like two entirely different people. Reluctantly she put away the puzzle of who the real Rick Castle was for now. Kate dried off and quickly dressed. She smiled as her stomach growled happily at the smell of good food. She had been to Remy's with him once before and knew that dinner would be great. Castle had pushed two hospital tables together to make a table of sorts and spread out both meals on them between two beds.

Rick was devouring one of his two hamburger smothered in cheese, mushrooms and onions. He also had a large shake and a box of onion rings in front of him.

"No, please don't wait for me, you must be hungry, Castle."

"I waited for a bit but you took too long."

"Onions on the burger and onion rings?"

"Don't worry I'll brush my teeth before our goodnight kiss."

"Gee, thanks! Slow down or you'll get sick."

"Yes, mom!"

"Oh, bite me, Rick!"

"Maybe after dinner, I'll start at that luscious neck of yours, Kate and nibble all the way down to your toes."

Beckett was just about to bite into her burger but his comment stopped her momentarily. Damn that man! He was always doing that. He made the most inappropriate comments and always at the wrong time. Kate was starving but just now she couldn't remember how to swallow. She also knew that she was blushing furiously and could feel her heart racing as she thought about his words. A small but growing part of her wanted him to do just that. Kate quickly pushed that idea far down in her mind because she couldn't let him get in the last word.

"Aren't you afraid that you might catch the plague if you nibble on me?"

"I don't get sick…well, except for that one time I got mono."

Kate forced herself to look at him, as if daring Rick to try it but he was totally engrossed with his meal. She felt the color slowly leave her face as she was finally able to take a bite.

The meal was wonderful and silent from that point, until they both had finished. Castle gathered the trash from both their meals and brought it over to the panel by the intercom.

"Mother and Alexis sent us a care package. You can unpack all the goodies, while I jump into the shower…..oh, and Kate, no peeking!

She threw the used napkin still in her hand at him, "In your dreams, Castle."

Rick opened his mouth as if to respond to her quip with another X-rated scenario or similarly suggestive comment. "Don't"! At Kate's one word command, he just nodded and walked to the shower.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate waited for Rick to go behind the curtain before she ran to open the package. True to her word, Martha put in a small bottle of scented body lotion, and bless her, some hair conditioner. There were also several paperbacks, some magazines and two decks of cards? Curious, she opened both, one held a deck of cards but the other held an IPod, obviously for her from Alexis. A note was attached to the small device. "Please take care of him for me. Thank you, A."

Kate took it, one book, a few magazines, the conditioner and lotion to her bed. She rolled her eyes at the name of the lotion, Calgon Perfect Bliss but after an experimental sniff, she did like the smell. Best of all after putting on the lotion, her skin didn't feel so dry and itchy. Settling in bed, trying to get comfortable. Kate used a blanket from another bed and folded it to try to get some cushioning between her butt and the rock hard mattress. Turning on the IPod, Kate smiled to hear one of her favorite tunes from Sarah McLachlan, In the Arms of an Angel.

The song's words spoke to her. Kate Beckett had nearly lost it after her mother had been murdered. With a lot of help, she had finally accepted that the killer might never be found. Kate never told anyone at the precinct about what happened, yet they all seemed to know but never spoke about it. She would never forget her mom or how she died but Kate learned that she had to get past it or go crazy. She also learned that no matter how hard she tried in her job, they would never be able to get justice for everyone. She was still working on that one! Listening to the song, Kate unconsciously reached for her mom's necklace but remembered that she'd lost it and her dad's watch. That still hurt but she had all her memories and those couldn't be destroyed. Too tired to read, she flipped through a few of the magazines and listened to several other songs. After a few minutes, she returned to the first song again and turned up the volume.

"_Spend all your time waiting for that second chance, for the break that will make it OK. There is always some reason not to feel good enough and it hard at the end of the day. I need some distraction."_ The melody of the familiar song slowly lulled her into a deep sleep.

Castle had to wash himself twice to remove any trace of the smell of the decontamination fluids. The soap they had provided was horrible, he missed his Paul Sebastian shower gel. Rick dried off and pulled on a pair of scrub pants. He tossed the wet towel in the hamper, grabbed the scrub top and pushed back the curtain. Pulling on the top as he walked by Beckett's bed. He stopped to watch her sleep for a minute. Sniffing the air and was surprised to smell the lotion that Alexis sometimes used. He liked the smell of cherries on Kate much better. Rick smiled at how peaceful she looked and was about to walk to his bed but heard the muted sound of the music. Puzzled, Rick looked closer and saw his daughter's IPod in Kate's hand.

Castle often went into his daughter's room at night just to watch her sleep. He had lost track of how many nights Alexis had fallen asleep with music from that IPod playing at full blast. He had never understood how anyone could do that but quickly learned how to turn the music off and gently remove the ear buds. He'd also learned to move the fragile unit to the relative safety of the nightstand because like him, Alexis was a very restless sleeper.

Stepping closer to Beckett, Rick debated if he should turn it off. He didn't want Kate to wake suddenly if he turned the sound off and see him hovering over her. However, he just couldn't resist the chance to watch her sleep so closely. The Kate Beckett he saw on the job was pretty but now...she really was Sleeping Beauty. Castle held his breath and gently touched the button that turned the unit off. He waited but she never stirred. With practiced ease he removed the ear buds and placed the unit on the hospital table beside Kate. He very much wanted to kiss her, just as he always kissed Alexis goodnight but decided not to.

Kate helped him out big time today with his daughter. Somehow she knew that he had never been very good at saying no to Alexis...well any woman really. He didn't want to screw up the trust he felt building between them. Why was it so hard to get to know her? He had always had an easy time with most woman but none of his usual moves worked with Kate. He knew she had been hurt by that arrogant ass Sorenson...but there had been someone or something else. When they first met, Rick remembered that she had looked so sad, lost and damaged when he told Kate that she became a cop because she had lost someone close. He had to find out who she lost and how. He wanted to fix it somehow or at least give her some closure.

If he was brutally honest with himself, he started shadowing Beckett because he was attracted to her. She was the first woman in a very long time who seemed indifferent to his charm. Maybe it started as a game to see how long it would take for him to win her over... but now it was so much more. Kate fascinated him. She was beautiful, strong, tough, smart and so very good at what she did. Castle had never met anyone that could go toe to toe with him in a verbal chess match and she even beat him in poker, once or twice. Sometimes lately they finished each other's sentences. He wanted her, hell yeah! Any man with a pulse would but he refused to fall in love with her. Love just never worked out for him. Every woman that ever said that she loved him, had left him. Since his last divorce, he would meet someone who caught his eye, after hello he had a few sweaty sessions under the sheets and then a quick goodbye. This thing with Kate, whatever it was, was new for him. For once in his life Rick Castle had no idea how to proceed, so for now it was baby steps...banter was allowed, she seemed to like that. So if Kate said anything to him about the iPod, he would simply say she was asleep and there was no sense in wasting the batteries.

Pleased with his plan, Castle walked back to the bed that Kate had pointed out to him. He toyed briefly with the idea of moving to the bed right beside her but flopped down on his bed but then got up just as quickly. Pulling back the blanket and sheet, he was expecting to find a slab of metal or stone not an ugly stripped mattress. Curious, he tested the bed next to him but that mattress was also rock hard. How could Kate get any sleep? Then he noticed that she folded the blanket from the bed next to her as padding. Rick copied her actions and found it was now a little more comfortable. He selected one of the books his mother sent and was soon absorbed in the new Grisham story.


	7. Chapter 7

Several chapters later, Castle wished that he had not eaten so fast or so many onions. He had major case of indigestion. Sometimes drinking cold water helped. As he got up, a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him hard. Rick found he had to walk slowly from bed to bed because his legs suddenly felt weak and wobbly. He knew there was a nurse behind the glass wall but did not want to take any chance of waking Kate just for a bad case of indigestion.

Holding onto the curtain, he felt worse by the second but was able to make the last few feet to the toilet. Rick sank to his knees and quickly lost his last meal. After what seemed like hours, his stomach was empty but he had no strength left to get up. Resting his head on the toilet seat for a few minutes, he tried again to get up but knew that he would need help. Calling out for Kate, his throat hurt from being sick and now he was shivering with cold. He tried to call out again but his voice was so weak, he knew she would never hear him. Rick stretched out on floor for a short while gathering strength and then tried to crawl closer to Kate's bed.

Suddenly he stopped! What if this whole mess wasn't a joke? What if he had really caught the plague? He didn't want to take a chance of passing it on to Kate. Rick felt colder as his fever rose, his mind was cloudy as fears, wishes, dreams and fantasies raced and overlapped. He saw flashes of all the happy moments raising his daughter, most of the best memories of his life revolved around Alexis. He had set up a trust for his daughter a very long time ago, it now held most of the money he'd made from the sale of his books. The trustee he had chosen was a friend and a lawyer, someone he trusted to make sure that his mother would always be taken care of. Rick wanted to make very sure that Gina but most especially Meredith would never have unrestricted access to Alexis or come up with any way to get at her money. Castle had also hoped that one day, sometime far in the future, he would live to see his daughter get married and looked forward to spoiling his grandchildren. There was enough money so his little girl would never want for anything. That she could do or be anything she could dream of, just as long as she was happy, that's all he ever wanted. He couldn't complain about the hand that fate had dealt him. It was not a bad life when you only have a single regret. Kate Beckett!

They started off all wrong, he was annoying and she was certainly annoyed. When they first met, Kate had a murder to solve and even Rick had to agree that he behaved badly. For a long tiime after he'd forced his way into her life, she barely tolerated him. Everything he did or said seemed to anger or disappoint her. Slowly she learned to tolerate him and maybe now, she even trusted him a little. Rick wanted to worthy of her trust and had left most of his old wild and crazy lifestyle behind. Truth be told, it no longer held much interest for him. Kate Beckett was so different from the bored and boring heiresses or the rich husband hunting celebutants, wanna-be actresses and writer groupies that had always draped themselves all over him. They cared nothing for him, they just wanted to be seen or photographed with him or get into his bed hoping to be the next Mrs. Castle. He would be the last to say that all of it hadn't been fun at first but after meeting Kate, most other women seemed so shallow, even hollow. Rick was curious to know what it would feel like to be loved, really loved by a woman with no hidden agenda, someone who didn't want something from him.

The only real love he had ever known was his daughter. In many ways Rick grew up with her, indulging in and enjoying the childhood that he never had with his daughter. Moving from place to place with Martha as her shows opened and closed wasn't much fun as a kid. He also hated the endless string of her deadbeat boyfriends and husbands. Growing up, he had been a wild child and would be the last to deny it but compared to some of the jerks his mother brought home as her new husband, he was a saint. Thankfully Alexis did not take after him that way and he had always been careful to keep his womanizing far away from her. Now his little girl would soon be leaving for college and Martha had Chet. He would be all alone and that thought did scare him. What scared him even more was the thought that eventually and probably very soon, his time with Kate would be over. He would never admit it to anyone but he had enough research for several books. Rick could not imagine his life anymore without Kate Beckett in it.

At this moment, he had never felt so sick in all his life and just too tired to pretend anymore. What he wanted most was Kate, to somehow show her who he really was and make her take him seriously. He had been burned twice by marriage and was afraid to try again...but what he really wanted was to ask Kate to marry him and to have a child with her. He smiled at the thought of another pretty little girl but with dark hair and Kate's beautiful eyes. A child they could raise together and live as a family, happily ever after.

All the fairy tales he read to Alexis as a child must have filled his brain with some hopelessly romantic and impossible dreams. Kate didn't need him. Sometimes, he wasn't sure that she even liked him. Why would she want him? Kate had a real purpose, an important life! She caught criminals and got justice for victims of crimes. No wonder she had been unimpressed with his money, glamorous lifestyle or the expensive toys. What could he give her? What did Rick Castle do that was so worth while? He wrote books, murder mysteries….pulp fiction. Eventually his books would be thrown out, sold at a yard sale or used to prop open a broken window.

Money meant nothing to her, he knew that Kate liked little things, a cup of coffee, a bear claw, a box of take out Chinese noodles but mostly she liked that he helped with her work. They worked so well together. The last several months had been the very best time of his life...and now it was over. With a last look at her, he felt what little strength he had left drain away. Rick head rested on his arm, his eyes closed and the darkness took him away.


	8. Chapter 8

It was nearly 11PM, the nurse that helped Rick call his daughter earlier watched both her patients settle in for the night. One was asleep and the other was reading. Usually she waited until her replacement arrived but tonight she just wanted to go home and hug her own little girl. She watched as Rick Castle got up and walked to the bathroom. The nurse quickly wrote notes for the next shift, signed out and left the building. She didn't know that her replacement was running late.

Arriving twenty minutes late, the new nurse was surprised to find the nurses station empty. The doctor assigned to the isolation unit called her earlier; he had explained the case and the hazmat precautions. She quickly read through the notes left by the nurse from the previous shift as she put on her protective suit. From her desk, she could only see one patient and assumed that the other person was probably in the bathroom. Entering the isolation unit, she saw a body on the floor and hit the alarm!

Kate had been violently woken up by the sound of the alarm. She watched as someone in a hazmat suit rushed towards her bed. She was puzzled when the woman ran past her bed to kneel next to someone on the floor. Still half asleep, Kate suddenly realized that the person on the floor had to be Rick! Beckett started to get up and go to him but an angry voice from the doorway ordered her to "STAY IN YOUR BED!" Reluctantly she complied. She watched as two others, obviously men and probably doctors, hurried into the room. Together they lifted Castle and carried him back to the bed furthest from her. A fourth person soon arrived and pushed a medical cart into the room.

The doctors were quickly handed several items. Kate watched as one man listened to Rick's heart and lungs. One nurse was preparing an oxygen mask but the doctor waved it away.

"No, he is breathing fine on his own, no coughing and no blood. What the hell is going on? He has a fever but it's not that high." She watched as they cut away the scrub top Castle was wearing. "There are no blotches anywhere. I want another blood sample, then monitor him and start an IV."

Finally the doctor turned to look at her. "Are you having any problems? Sweating, coughing shortness of breath? No dizziness or fever?" Suddenly the reality of the situation hit her hard; Kate just shook her head no. "Do you know if this man was having any of those symptoms before he collapsed?"

Kate finally got her voice to work. "Asleep...he went into the shower and I fell asleep."

"The nurse's notes said that he was in bed reading when she left. What the hell happened? I will need another blood sample from you and I want you to wear a mask. Stay as far away from him as you can in here; at least until I have some more answers."

"Will he be OK?"

The two doctors left without another word. One of the nurses came over and handed her a face mask and proceeded to draw the blood. Then as quickly as they came, they were all gone. Kate could do nothing except watch Castle from across the room as the monitor mechanically counted his heart rate, respirations and temperature. Beckett had never felt more useless in her life. After they had been gone a long time, Kate got tired of just watching, she wanted to walk over and sit with him, touch him...at least hold his hand. Angry with herself, she wiped away a few tears. What good would crying do, she needed answers. A short time later, one of the doctors returned and she turned her anger on him. "What is going on? Why is Rick so sick but I'm not?"

"I'm sorry, Detective Beckett, I do not know. I just got the blood work back and neither of you show any trace of the plague bacteria, at least not yet. I cannot explain his fever, why he collapsed and is now unconscious. Was he sick before today, I mean like a cold or allergies? Was he recently in an accident or hurt in any way? Did he actually touch the infected man or stay near him longer than you?"

"No! We both were about ten feet from the victim and we were both exposed to him for a minute or two, tops. We were decontaminated at the same time and have been in here ever since. What is wrong with him? Am I going to sick like that too?"

"I wish I could tell you. I don't know the answer to any of those questions right now. If all the other variables are the same, why aren't you showing the same symptoms? And why is he showing all the wrong symptoms for plague? Mr. Castle symptoms indicate some kind of allergic reaction or poisoning but neither of you touched your dinners. The food trays are still waiting to be destroyed. The symptoms came on so fast, anything you had for breakfast and lunch was digested too long ago."

"Rick's mother had dinner delivered from his favorite restaurant...but it was just cheeseburgers and I had one too."

"Where did the food come from? Did you have exactly the same thing?"

"Remy's! I had French fries and a strawberry shake. He had onion rings a chocolate shake...oh yeah, he had grilled onions and mushrooms on his burger."

"Mushrooms! Listeria, yes, now the symptoms make some sense. He probably has severe food poisoning from the mushrooms. I'll check the trash; hopefully I can find a sample to test."

"Wait! He will be OK, won't he? I mean you don't die from food poisoning, right?"

"He should be fine." The doctor all but ran to the door of the unit and was gone.

Kate watched him leave and felt tears pickle her eyes again. "Should be?

Kate had been sitting beside Castle holding his hand for hours. Exactly how long she had been with him, Beckett had no clue because there was no clock in their isolation room and she no longer had a watch. Kate felt a tug at her heart as she remembered the loss of her dad's watch or her mother's ring again. She had lost so much, so quickly…..she could not loose him too. Her eyes scanned the monitors beside his bed again. His temperature, heart rate and respiration had not changed and he still showed no signs of waking up. Beckett rubbed her eyes and shifted her butt on the hard wooden chair. Her bed was just sixty feet away but Kate knew that she would not, could not sleep and her bed was too far away from him. She tried to read to him for awhile but the words on the page kept swimming as she tried not to cry and failed. Ignoring the orders from both the doctors and nurses, who came almost hourly with more medications for his IV, she sat with Rick waiting for him to open his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Kate never wanted to be in this position again, she had lost or nearly lost too many people in her life. As a teenager, she had lost her first love in a drowning accident. It still hurt to think about how Jamie died. Kate had just turned twenty when she lost her mother. She never really got the chance to mourn that loss, because soon after she had her hands full helping her dad. James Beckett turned to alcohol to dull his pain. The loss of his beloved wife, Johanna, was also the loss of his best friend. In many ways Kate was a lot like her dad, very reserved with few close friends and she rarely dated. Besides, she was much too busy getting through college while trying to keep her dad from drinking himself to death. She had to be strong for her dad, for them both. Kate had soon built thick walls around her heart.

Richard Castle had always been her favorite author. His books had helped her survive the loss of her mom and get through the long nights looking after her father. His stories created a world for Kate to escape to, where the good guys always won; bad guys were always caught and paid for what they did. Derek Storm had become her hero; he was always strong, smart and steadfast. In Kate's mind Richard Castle had become one and the same as the man he wrote about. The loss of her mom, and perhaps in a small way, Castle's stories pushed Kate into her current career. She had always liked puzzles and reading mysteries allowed her to see all the ways to find out who done it. This skill became very useful when she became one of the youngest detectives in Homicide.

She finally got to meet her hero when she had to investigate a murder that mirrored one of Richard Castle's stories. Naturally, he had to be interviewed but secretly she was thrilled. However, when she met Rick, she was horribly disappointed. He was nothing like Derek Storm. Castle was such an outrageous flirt. He was annoying, often silly, talking way too much and always saying or doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time. He was immature or childish depending on his mood that day and never listened to her or followed her instructions. He acted like what she did was a game and he wanted to play at being a cop. He said highly inappropriate things to her and others, usually very suggestive or just plain smutty. How could this man ever have created Derek Storm?

Rick often reminded her that what he wrote was fiction, there was no Derek. Kate soon learned to understand and even appreciate the differences between the character and his author. She refused to admit it to anyone but she felt an instant attraction to him. He was handsome and could be unbelievably charming when he wanted to...and he was much more complex than Derek Storm. What she found so amazing, was that his writer's mind could detach from the flesh and blood realities of a murder case and see it as a puzzle to solve, a story to be told. His mind could pull new ideas, connections and possibilities almost from thin air. He helped her to think outside the box. Her solve rate on cases had improved since he had come to the 12th. Rick Castle drove her crazy but now she could not imagine a day without him in it because he had not only punched great big holes in the wall she'd built around her heart, he had pretty much knocked it down entirely.

Beckett's thoughts were interrupted by nurse's offer for food, which she passed on but soon after her eyes slowly began to close. Kate woke instantly when she felt his hand move in hers.

"Kate?"

"Hey, welcome back!"

"I don't have the plague?" His voice was weak, dry and raspy. "I'm not dead?"

"If you're dead, then I'm dead."

"Well if I am dead, then this must be heaven because I'm looking at an absolute angel."

Kate could feel herself blush as he continued to look at her with his beautiful blue eyes. "Does this look like heaven to you, Castle? Besides only the good die young. So you'll probably live forever." She saw him smile but the smile faded quickly as he winced in pain. "How do you feel?"

"Awful! I guess that means I'm not dead then because I hurt pretty much everywhere."

"You've been pretty sick. Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

"I was reading and felt sick to my stomach. I made it to the bathroom and I lost my dinner...but after that, it's pretty much a blank. I vaguely remember some rather vivid dreams and interesting fantasies. They must have given me some really good drugs?"

Kate rolled her eyes at him but also smiled because he was back to being "bad boy Rick".

"Wait, if I don't have the plague...what is all this stuff on me for?" He noticed for the first time that she was holding his hand. "Are you OK, Kate?"

"I'm fine, no plague, well not so far. You, however, have food poisoning from all the mushrooms on your burger."

"No way! I've eaten at Remy's hundreds of time."

"The doctor called the restaurant and several other customers felt sick after eating the mushrooms. Of course they didn't wolf down two huge cheeseburgers smothered in grilled onions and mushrooms. As a precaution, the health department confiscated the mushrooms from other restaurants that use the same supplier and are having them tested."

Rick started to turn pale at the mention of food. "Oh, God! Please don't mention food. Is that why my stomach hurts so much?"

"I'll have the nurse get you something." Kate tried to get up but Castle wouldn't release her hand.

"Don't go!"

She smiled and gently freed her hand. "I can't go anywhere, remember? I'm only walking right over here." She walked over to the intercom and pressed the button to talk. "He's awake and not feeling well, stomach cramps." Kate walked back to his bed but she did not sit down or reach for his hand again. "The nurse asked me to let her know when you finally woke up."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Not sure…a long time! There are no clocks in here and they took both our watches. She is the third or fourth nurse we've had since we got here."

"Oh yeah, I was going to tell you last night but you were sleeping when I got out of the shower. I didn't want to get your hopes up but I finally got to talk to the head guy before they dragged me down here. Since they don't know if we even have the plague, I asked them not to destroy the watches and your ring...at least until they confirm if we are sick or not. He agreed to wait."

Kate felt her heart beat faster as the great news sunk in. Kate took a step forward to kiss him but the inner door to the isolation room opened just then. "Thank you! Thank you, so much."

He had suspected for a long time that the watch and ring were more than gifts; they were very special to her. He hoped that someday she would trust him enough to tell him why. Rick just nodded and smiled at her as if he had done nothing special.

AN: This is the one thing in the series that I disagreed with. On the show, Kate told Rick about her mom in the fourth or fifth episode but I don't think she would do that so soon. That's why he still doesn't know about her mom in my story...at least not yet.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well how are we feeling today?" The pudgy nurse looked silly in the hazmat suit as she walked up to his bed and checked his IV.

Rick rolled his eyes at her overpowering cheerfulness and Kate tried not to giggle.

"I don't know about you but I feel like shit!" He answered her in the same overly sweet tone.

"If you want to drop the attitude and tell me what hurts, Mr. Castle, maybe I can do something about it."

Rick was surprised at the sudden change in tone and demeanor. "Sorry, it's been a bad day."

"Apology accepted! I can see where food poisoning and the plague could really take the fun out of your day. OK, let's start at the top, headache?"

"Yeah but not too bad! My throat feels like I drank battery acid. My stomach hurts but not all the time. When it doesn't hurt, I feel hungry but the thought of food makes me feel sick. Actually, I've felt nauseous since I woke up."

"The doctor left orders for some medication that will help the cramps and nausea. I'll get some ice chips for your throat. Put some of the chips in your mouth, just a little at a time but don't chew on them. Let it melt in your mouth and then swallow as gently as you can. It will hurt at first but the cold and the liquid will make it feel better pretty soon." She injected some more medication into his IV and started to leave.

"When can I loose all this hardware?" He pointed to the IV and the monitor.

"I'll let the doctor know you're awake. He will want to examine you first and see if the medication he ordered is helping you. We will also need to draw blood again. Once you can swallow a little better, we can switch you to pills and disconnect the IV, OK?"

Castle just frowned but Kate turned to thank the nurse for him.

"Stop pouting! Do you have any idea just how sick you've been? The doctors and nurses have been in and out all night. They could be risking their lives just by coming in here if we are infected." She held up a hand to stop him from speaking. "And don't tell me you don't get sick...you're sick now so deal with it. I hate to break it to you but the great Richard Castle is human. You've done some incredibly stupid things and been damned lucky up until now. Superman you are not, bullets don't bounce off and apparently mushrooms are your kryptonite." Kate turned to walk away.

"Kate, please don't walk away, it hurts and I can't talk any louder. I am sorry! I know I have to be more careful but this time it was not my fault. You keep saying I act like a kid, when you're a kid you think you are indestructible. I don't like being sick, having someone else take care of me. I'm no good at it! Besides, I'm a writer! I always call the shots for my characters. This whole plaque story line stinks and I can't find the delete button. I really hate it when I'm stuck with a story that I can't fix.

"You aren't a character and this is not a storyline. Time to grow up, Castle! You hate being sick well too bad. So shut up and do what you're told for once! A lot of people are worried about you being in here." Kate turned away trying to keep calm.

"Are you one of them, Kate?"

Beckett turned back startled, it was like he was reading her mind again and that made her mad. Rick was stunned to see tears in Kate's eyes.

"Yes! Are you happy now? I was scared; I thought I might loose you. If you died, how the hell am I supposed to tell Alexis that you died because of me? That she lost her dad, the most important person in her world because no matter what I say or do, you keep putting yourself in harm's way." Kate stamped her foot down in aggravation. She was blubbering like an idiot but couldn't stop because a part of her did want to run over to him, climb in the bed and hold him close. Another part of her wanted to hit him, slap that smug smile right off his face. The last part, the one that was winning her internal argument wanted to run away as far as she could...but how far can you run in a room that is only 90 feet long.

"Kate, don't cry! Please, I really hate it when you cry. This sucks because I want to hold you right now and I can't get out of this bed. Come here."

Those two words ended her indecision. "Come here? How dare you! I am not one of your empty headed bimbos with double D cups that swoon for the privilege of jumping into your bed, because Little Ricky is in the mood for fun and games. Kate Beckett will not be the next notch on your bedpost, another name on your conquest list. I will also not be treated like arm candy that would gladly obey your every command in exchange for money, publicity or pricey baubles. Do you care about anything except what amuses you or helps you write? Does anyone or anything ever touch your heart...except Alexis?"

More in control, she continued. "Yes, I am a fan of your books, or at least I was. Derek Storm was my hero! He helped me through some of my darkest days. I can't believe that I never realized he was such a cardboard cutout of a man. Nikki Heat is well named; she is every man's bachelor party dream girl, a slut stuffed into a police uniform. I doubt either one of your character's would recognize or know what to do an honest human emotion if they fell over them, just like their creator." With that said, Kate turned her back on him and all but ran away. With nowhere else to go, she closed the curtains at the back of the room and turned on the water in the shower full force.

Rick tried to call out to her but his throat hurt too much. He laid back with a puzzled look that quickly turned to a frown. "What the hell just happened? What did I do?" Kate's words hurt him a lot more than the pain in his stomach and throat. He had to talk to her, wanted to explain and apologize but exactly what for he had no clue. Right now he was stuck, tied down with the monitor wires and the stupid IV. He pulled off the monitor wires and tried to sit up.

The nurse had gone to get some ice chips, she returned just in time to watch the monitor wires go flying. "You touch that IV and you will spend the next few days in restraints!"

"Please, get this thing off me. I have to talk to Kate! We had a fight….at least I think it was a fight. She went into the bathroom, it's as far away from me as she can get in this room. "

"You want me to take that off and then you are just going to walk over there. Fine!" She quickly removed the needle and stepped back. Rick tried to sit up again and felt very dizzy. Closing his eyes he moved his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to stand but his feet seemed to melt into the floor, his knees felt like jello and the room kept tilting up and down. On the third try, he finally stood up but his stomach began to turn, he had eaten nothing to throw up but he felt very sick to his stomach and was forced to sit back down again.


	11. Chapter 11

"You all done making yourself feel worse?" The nurse helped Rick lay back down, quickly started the IV again and reattached the monitors. "Now if you will lay down, behave yourself for a little while and let the medicine help you, you will feel a whole lot better and then you can talk to her. She cares about you. I watched her sit by your side for five or six hours. That woman was holding your hand against the doctor's strict orders, even saw her kiss your hand. She was crying too. So what ever you just said or did that got her mad, it was just an excuse for her to walk away. She was scared that she might loose you. She is in there trying to convince herself that she doesn't really care for you. She just needs a good cry and time to think about things now that you are feeling better. So you let her be."

Picking up the cup of ice chips, she put a spoonful near his lips. "Here have some ice chips, let them melt. OK, now swallow gently." The first few spoonfuls were a struggle but his throat did begin to feel a little better. "I brought in some water too. I want you to keep your throat cool and wet. The IV will help with the nausea and cramps but it will also make you tired. OK? Now if you promise to be good, I'll go check on her." Rick nodded in agreement suddenly feeling too tired to argue. As she turned to walk away, he stopped the nurse and reached for her gloved hand. The woman encased in the suit smiled sweetly at him. "Don't bother, save all your sweet talk for that young lady in there. If you need anything, my name is Ruth."

"Thank you Ruth. I'll try not to be such a pain in the ass. Take care of her for me, please?"

Ruth cleared her throat loudly and walked behind the curtain to find Kate sitting on the floor near the shower head in hands. "Sorry to disturb you but I have to take your temperature, check you pulse, respiration and heart." The nurse turned off the water and quickly gathered her patient's information.

"Well you are just fine. If the next few tests come back negative, you both are looking really good to be released by Tuesday night." Getting no response, she bent down to look Kate in the eyes. "Just thought I'd let you know, he tried to come in here to apologize to you. As sick as he is, he actually took a step but then he fell back down on the bed. He is probably sound asleep again. Here you need to take these...pills are better than shots but it's your choice. Good girl, now you need to get some rest. Everything will look better in the morning."

Kate was so tired she barely resisted as the nurse helped her get up and walked her back to the bed. Unable to stop herself, Kate looked over to see Castle was sleeping.

"You didn't eat. Can I get you something?" Kate didn't answer so the nurse just helped her into bed.

"Is he usually this much trouble?"

"Oh yeah, my whole team has two jobs, solving crimes and keeping him out of trouble."

"Well you go to sleep, I'll keep a watchful eye on him tonight for you."

The next morning when Castle finally woke, he still felt horrible but at least the doctor had come, the IV and monitor wires had been removed. He was impatiently waiting for Kate to stir. Some of the things she said yesterday hurt him and he was getting mad. It was time to clear the air. He saw her arm move as she stretched but she said nothing to him. Rick waited but finally the silence got to him. "Kate, we need to talk." He got no response.

"Kate I know you're awake! Just be careful if you get out of bed. A heard of elephants wandered into the room last night."

Beckett turned over in her bed, so now her back was to him.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I have no idea why I am apologizing because when I said come here, that is what I meant, please come closer to me. It hurt to talk. If I could have gotten up and walked to you, Kate, I would have. I tried it and nearly fell flat on my face. You looked sad and tired and I know you sat with me. I wanted to thank you period, no passes or double entendres intended." She didn't respond. "So you're still mad at me?" He waited. "Not talking and pretending to be asleep. Now who is acting like a child?" He waited again but got no answer. "So you are just going to ignore me for the next two or three days?"

"That's my plan. We don't really have anything to say to each other."

"Oh no, Ms. Beckett, you had your say. Now it's my turn. First, if you think I've hung around for the last seven months just for the chance to get you in my bed, let me disabuse you of that notion right now! If all I wanted was sex, there are thousands of "escort" services just in New York City alone that would be happy to provide me with a partner, or partners, in every shape, color, size or kinky fetish I want to indulge and all for a nominal fee. Also, my publicist can line up events for me to attend with a long and growing list of eager young starlets and social climbers who would kill, no pun intended, to be seen with me and "play" with me for free. I would also like to point out that I am under contact to Black Pawn Press; that contact obligates me to show up at launch parties, book signings and to do publicity junkets. I have in the past, and I will hardly deny it, indulged in some hot and sweaty horizontal aerobics with several consenting adult partners after attending these events." He had been talking to her back but slowly Kate rolled onto her back to glare at him.

"That's all it was Kate, just sex! No false expectations, promises or strings attached. I am sorry if that offends your moral code but as much as I love Alexis, I am not a monk. Every once and awhile a man needs to have some fun with a warm and willing woman. It's not how I thought my life would turn out. Like you Kate, and contrary to public opinion, I am or at least intended to be a one and done type guy. What's the phrase, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and believe me both my marriages became a trip through hell. I thought it was me but I've come to understand that I just married the wrong women. You've met Meredith and Gina, so I rest my case." He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"What we have is not about sex, it is about being there for each other and that is a new experience for me. I know when this all started, being paired with me was not your choice but you put up with me….and I do know that I can be difficult at times."

"At times?" Castle smiled because he knew that she was listening.

"You inspire me Kate, bring excitement back to my writing and give me intriguing new ideas. I flatter myself that I've helped you too. Together we solved some puzzles and found some killers. Yes, I am attracted to you, never said otherwise, playful banter aside. But command you, no! I'd never even try it because I would like to live and keep all the protruding body parts I have...I'm rather fond of some of them. I would never want or expect you to be anything other than who you are because you are amazing! I've said it before and I mean it, Kate, you don't let go, you don't back down and that's what makes you extraordinary! You make me want to be a better man, friend and partner. It's hard for both of us to trust others, to let people see the real person inside. I want that, I do but it's not easy for me, so please be patient with me."

Kate got up and wiped away a few tears. She really tried to stay mad this time but failed again. "You know, you really piss me off!" She walked over to his bed. "And sometimes I think you do it just to see me get mad."

"You are adorable when you get mad. That little crease between your eyes…." He reached out to touch her.

"Touch me and that finger will be a fond memory"

"Got it! Sorry, Kate. I pushed my luck with that one."

"Look at that folks! He can be taught."

"So we are good? Friends? Please?"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was not thinking clearly, tired and stressed out. Yesterday was not my best day. Not much point in staying mad and not speaking in here. OK, friends." They shook hands.

"This a first for me, a woman who is not a wife, lover or family member. I have a friend and partner, maybe I am finally growing up."

"Maybe, they say miracles happen everyday."


	12. Chapter 12

"So what do you want to do today...and that questions was asked with no sexual subtext. For the first time since puberty, I can honestly say that having sex is the farthest from my mind in my present condition. What other goodies did Alexis and my mother send us? I just grabbed the first book I found in the bag last night."

Kate walked over and dumped out everything. "Several magazines, some paperbacks and a deck of cards; I'd suggest playing honeymoon whist but that would be hitting below the belt."

"Oh, we are witty today, cruel but witty. OK Beckett you're on, deal the cards."

After several hands, which she won, Kate could see that Rick was getting tired. "You want to take a break? I've beaten you seven out of ten hands. Funny, I thought you'd be a lot better at this game considering all the practice you've had." Kate waited for a comeback but he just yawned at her. "Are you OK?"

"I don't know what wrong with me, I have no energy. Just playing cards made me so tired. They will never let me out of here if I can't stay awake for more than a few hours."

"Stop being so impatient! I'm not feeling 100 percent either. They gave us enough shots and pills to cure every disease known to man, I'm tired too. On top of that, you got sick from the bad mushrooms."

"Oh God, please never say the M word again."

Beckett tried to look apologetic but failed miserably. "The nurse said that we aren't getting out of here until they draw blood on Tuesday and we come back clean."

"More blood? I feel like a pin cushion already and I'm itchy." He scratched at the two plus days of stubble on his face.

"I like it! You should consider growing a beard, it would help you butch up."

"Beards itch and I'd look like a wino."

"I thought all writers grew beards and smoked pipes...like Hemmingway."

"Kate, he wrote about death, depression and impotence and eventually committed suicide. He is not the best role model to have and chosen...and what do you mean butch up? I've had no complaints about "Little Ricky". If this is your idea of making me feel better, it's not."

"Quit your bitching, Castle. You are alive and everyday you will feel a little better, I promise. Lay back and close your eyes. I'll read to you."

"I started the latest Grisham story just before I got sick."

"Got it!" Kate held up the book but before she could drag over a chair, a nurse entered the isolation room.

"Lunch time!" The woman opened the panel beside the intercom and took out one tray.

Castle's face lost all color at the word lunch. Kate was really hungry but she didn't want to eat in front of him. The nurse also noticed his reaction and did not take out the second tray.

"It's soup and a sandwich…..if you don't feel up to it I can order something else for you."

"Thank you, but I'll pass. Kate, you must be starving. Please, go have your lunch."

Kate got the unspoken message in his words. She took the tray from the nurse and walked back to her own bed, so that the smell of the food wouldn't reach him. As she ate, Rick flipped through a few of the magazines. "Barrons, Connisseur, Esquire, GQ, Fortune, Gourmet and Sports Illustrated, I must say not a page turner in the bunch."

"Martha didn't send you this month's Hustler or any of your porn collection?"

"Alexis probably put the care package together and she doesn't know where I hide it." Kate nearly choked on her sandwich. "Kidding! Sorry about that Kate, I just couldn't resist." Beckett shot him a dirty look and went back to eating as Castle looked through the Sports Illustrated. Several minutes later, Kate put her tray behind the panel near the intercom and sat on the bed next to Castle.

"OK, Chapter 10!" Castle smiled and closed his eyes as she began to read, he didn't care about finishing the story. Rick just liked to hear her voice. Several chapters later, Kate realized that he had not made any comments about the story or style for a chapter or two. Looking over, she confirmed he had gone back to sleep. Smiling at him, she stretched out and continued to read for a while but very soon she joined him in an afternoon nap. The familiar nightmare began as it always did.

Once she started college, Kate tried to meet her mom and dad for dinner at least one night a week. One night, her mother never arrived at the restaurant where she waited with her dad. Beckett began to toss and turn, trying to somehow change what happened next. Kate saw the police waiting when they got home.

Castle woke to the sound of Kate Beckett calling out "NO! No please, no!" She was thrashing around in the bed and about to fall out of it. He jumped out of bed to grab her, stopping her fall. As he reached to wake her, Kate's hands clutched his scrub top in a death grip. "Mom….mom", and then she began to cry. Rick couldn't let go of her even if he wanted to and he didn't want to. He eased into the narrow bed beside her and held her as she cried. Slowly the tears stopped and she fell back into a peaceful sleep.

He had known almost from the day they met that Kate had lost someone she loved. She would never answer his questions about who she lost or about the ring and watch. Now he was pretty sure that she had lost her mother and perhaps both parents. As he pieced together the bits and pieces of information he'd uncovered over the last seven months, Kate snuggled deeper into his arms. Rick smiled as he watched her sleep on his chest, her bad dream now a distant memory. It felt so right, he felt whole for the first time in a very long time. It was then that a startling thought hit him. This is what he wanted. To be with her, protect her...love her! That earth shattering fact sparked several more discoveries.

For the last 15 years Alexis and his writing were the most important things in his life. He had recently watched, and he really tried not to, as Alexis kissed her prom date goodnight. He knew that his days as a full time dad were numbered. Writing had become a job, a chore, until Kate came into his life and now it was just an excuse to be with her, to stay with her. He felt challenged and more alive since he began helping Kate. He knew what she did was important and worthwhile but the reason he stayed was because he never wanted anyone or anything to hurt Kate Beckett again. It had been such along time since he'd felt like this and back then it had not lasted long. He was scared to trust again, to open his heart again but now it was too late. He gently pushed back her bangs and tucked some hair behind Kate's ear to see her face better, only to see two hazel eyes snap open in shock.

"Castle! What the hell is this? You say you want to be friends but climb into bed with me the first chance you get. I should have known better than to trust you."

"Kate, you were having a nightmare. You woke me up calling out "No" and "Mom". You would have landed on the floor but I caught you. You pulled me into your bed and still have my shirt in your hands."

"Oh...sorry!" She let go of his shirt and rolled out of the bed on the other side but before she could runaway again, Rick spoke.

"Kate, tell me about it, please? I may not be able to fix it but sometimes talking helps. I've shared some things with you that very few people know. I know you lost someone very close, the watch you wear, it's a man's watch...was it your dad?" He waited in silence, hoping she would trust him enough to finally answer his questions.

"It was my mother, not my father. She was supposed to meet me and my dad at a restaurant but she never showed up...It will be twelve years ago next month. We came home and there was a detective waiting for us, Detective Raglan. They found her body, she was stabbed to death. She still had her purse, money and jewelry, so it wasn't a robbery and it wasn't a sexual assault. After an abbreviated investigation, her death was attributed to gang violence, they called it a random wayward incident. They didn't think outside the box, they just packaged it up nice and neat and filed it away. The killer way never caught."

"The ring, it was hers?" Kate nodded and tried to turn away. "Why do you wear the watch?"

"My dad took her death hard. He is sober now, five years. The ring is a keepsake of my mom for the life I lost and the watch is for the life I helped save. So now you know...good back story for your new book huh?"

"No, way too emotional...besides I'd never abuse the trust of a friend who told me about losing her mom.

"Thank you for that, oh and thanks for saving my butt."

"My pleasure, it's such a cute butt. What? That was a compliment! I was very good too. I held you and didn't even let my hands wander once. I think that deserves something."

"I'll let you win a few hands of poker after dinner."

"Let me? Oh, thems is fighting words. You are on!" Rick started to walk over to her but felt very dizzy.

"What's wrong?"

"A little dizzy."

"You haven't eaten in over 24 hours. What would you like?"

"I'm not sure I can swallow anything solid. Just the thought of it makes my stomach turn."

"If you don't eat, they will have to put in the IV again. Something light, yogurt maybe?"

"Kate please, after this I never want to hear the word bacteria again, let alone eat any."

Just then the nurse came into the isolation ward. "Dinner time."

Before Castle could open his mouth, Kate told the nurse he was dizzy and hadn't eaten in over a day. "Mr. Castle, after a severe case of food poisoning it can be hard to start eating again. I can order some plain pasta, soup, clear broth...I know what to try! I'll be right back. Ms. Beckett, your tray is behind the panel."

"Rick, are you sure you don't want something?" She took the tray back to her bed and Rick flopped down on his bed as his stomach took turns growling and turning over at the smell of her dinner. He shook his head and drank some water; at least he could still swallow that.

Moments later the nurse returned with a small tub of ice. "Here try this! These cans are protein shakes but they taste like milk shakes. They will help you start to eat again, help with the stomach cramps and stop the dizzy spells." She opened one and put in a straw. "It is the equivalent of a meal in a can."

"OK but you may want to step back a little. It may come up faster than it went down...Hey, that's not bad!"

"Don't drink it too fast. Have one and then if your stomach feels better, you can have another in a little while. I also brought the pills you asked for. They are just sugar pills but there are 100 in white, green and orange as you requested.

The nurse left after she watched Castle finish the first can with no adverse reaction.


	13. Chapter 13

A few minutes after the nurse left, Kate brought her empty tray to the wall panel. "Castle, what the hell did you want 300 sugar pills for?

"Poker! I can't play my best unless I'm playing for money. So while we are in here, the white pills are worth $100.00, the orange are worth $500.00 and the green are worth $1000.00. Hey, it's the best I could come up with in here, unless you have another stash of gummie bears.

"No gummie bears. So what happens tomorrow if we do get out of here?"

"The whites are a dime, the orange ones are a quarter and the greens are worth a dollar. I wouldn't feel right taking all your money to pay off what you'll owe me."

"Don't you mean you don't want to owe me the entire check for your next book advance?"

"Bring it, Beckett! After all it's only money." Rick moved a hospital table between his bed and the one Kate had fallen asleep in. "Cut to deal."

"Easy for you to say that! What's a few thousand dollars to you? I want something more than money if I win." Kate won the cut and dealt the first hand.

"Such as? And for your information, my last advance check from Black Pawn was three million dollars."

"Did you say million?"

"Yes, and don't change the subject. If you win, what do you want? Kindly remember that I once saved your life, all I asked was that you never call me by my first wife's pet name again."

"OK kitten, you can tell me more about Richard Castle and not that publicity crap they put on the dust covers for your books." Kate won the first hand and Castle threw away his cards.

"My life is an open book, literally and figuratively. What do you want to know?"

"Why were you nude when you were arrested for stealing, excuse me, borrowing a police horse in Central Park?"

"I would think a smart detective like you would have figured that one out by now. Do you remember the date? I do, it was June 18, 2005...that was the date my divorce from Gina was final. I met with my lawyer at Tavern on the Green. He gave me the final bill on the cost to end my second marriage. Between the alimony and his fee I was five million poorer."

"Five million dollars?"

"I had been drinking a nice white Chablis with dinner but immediately switched to vodka. To save time for the waiter, I bought the whole bottle. By the time I left the restaurant, I was quite drunk. A short time later it started to rain. I got very wet and didn't want to catch a cold, so I took off all my wet clothes. Soon after I was much too drunk to walk…"

"So you borrowed the horse."

"Unfortunately, the horse didn't know my address and brought me back to the police horse barn in Central Park, where I was promptly arrested." Kate giggled and Rick smiled at the sound.

For the rest of the night, they played poker and swapped stories: her first days on the force, his "wild child" days as a teenager, her not quite so wild days in college and his search to find his father. Then he made a big mistake. He asked Kate about her mother's case. If she had ever thought of re-opening it. Going back to see if she could find something that the police and Detective Raglan might have missed.

"No, I...can't! Castle, you touch my mother's case, then you and I are done. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I understand...but why?"

"For the same reason a recovering alcoholic can't drink. You don't think I haven't been down there? I've memorized every line in her file. My first three years on the force, I spent looking for something...anything that was missed. It took me a year of therapy to understand that if I didn't let it go, it would destroy me, so I finally let it go!"

"Sorry, I didn't know...but I have resources, maybe I can..."

"No!" Kate got up and walked away. "For once in your life you have to listen to me, drop it now, Rick. Please!" She went into the bathroom. He could hear Kate brushing her teeth. She came out from behind the curtain, got into bed, put in the ear buds and turned on the IPod.

He spent the next few hours thinking about everything she had told him. Her mother's murder answered so many whys but left the biggest why unanswered. He felt that with his money and contacts, he could find that answer for her but at what price?

Castle woke to the sound of the nurse entering the isolation room. He rolled over and was not surprised to see that Kate was still asleep or at least pretending to be asleep in her bed. He had no idea what time it was. The only way to mark time in the isolation room was when the nurses came in as the shifts changed at 7AM, 4PM and 11PM. The late night nurse came in during their poker game, she checked their vitals and drew blood. After she left, they had played and talked for hours...until he had stupidly brought up her mother's case.

The nurse walked to Rick's bed. Frowning, he sat up automatically and stuck out his arm for the woman to draw blood. It was only then he noticed she was wear scrubs and not a hazmat suit.

"Hello Mr. Castle. I'm Ruth. It's nice to finally be able to shake your hand without gloves."

Stunned, Rick shook the small black woman's hand in a daze, he was still processing the meaning of her in scrubs. "You mean it's over? We are OK and we can leave?" He hugged the woman quickly, then ran over and shook Kate's shoulder. "Kate, it's over! We are free to go." He looked back at the nurse again to confirm that statement. The nurse just smiled and nodded her head.

Kate looked first at the nurse and then Castle. Laughing, they both started to hug each other. "We can go home!"

Kate was the first to think of more practical matters. "So what happens now? Can we just leave and wear these home?" She tugged at the scrub top she was wearing.

"Your Captain was notified when the last blood test came back negative. He contacted your families and they are on the way now. They should be here shortly and will probably bring a change of clothes for you. The doctor will be here in a minute with some final instructions for you both. Oh yes, since you weren't infected it is OK to take home the books, cards and magazines you have in here with you."

Kate smiled, she was very glad because she would be able to return the IPod to Alexis.

The doctor arrived moments later, he walked over to hand Castle a large envelope. "The hospital administrator asked me to give you this." Rick opened the envelope and was thrilled to hand Kate her mother's ring and father's watch. He put on his Rolex and confirmed it was still ticking. "They were all inspected for bacteria, both you and all the jewelry came back clean. You are free to go but I strongly suggest that you take a few days off before returning to your regular work schedule. We put you on some powerful antibiotics as a precaution and Mr. Castle, you had a severe case of food poisoning. If you should have any symptoms, questions or problems, you can call me or consult your own doctor immediately."

As he left, the Captain, Esposito and Ryan arrived escorting a very scared looking Alexis Castle. Seeing her dad, she all but launched herself into his arms. "DAD!" Kate was still standing near Rick. She put both her hands on his back and was able to stop him from staggering backwards from the force of his daughter's greeting.

"Hey pumpkin, I have missed you so much!" When he could finally pry her arms loose, he pushed her back slightly. "Let me see that adorable face of yours. What's with the tears?"

"I was scared that I'd never see you again." Rick held her close for a few more minutes and then nuzzled his daughter's neck and she started to giggle. "Your face is fuzzy and it tickles."

"Kate says I should grow a beard. What do you think?" Rick turned to smile at Kate with Alexis still plastered to his chest. At the mention of Kate's name, Alexis let go of her dad and hugged a very surprised Beckett.

"Thank you for keeping him safe for me."

Kate hugged the girl back and whispered, "Thanks for the IPod. I played it when he was driving me crazy." Alexis giggled, took the IPod, gave Kate a quick kiss and returned to her father's arms.

"Speaking of driving me crazy, where is my mother? Is she off trolling for a cute doctor."

"Here I am, my darling! I've never missed a cue in my life. Lanie and I waited to show Mr. Beckett the way down here. Good heavens, this really is a dungeon. Well, I have come to rescue you both and take you home." Martha hugged Kate first, then her son. Alexis joined in to make it a group hug of the Castle clan.

"Why is everyone crying? This is a happy day." Rick looked up to see Kate run into her father's arms and he was also in tears. The next few minutes were a happy jumble of introductions, handshakes, hugs and tears. Rick finally got a hand free to shake her father's hand. "Mr. Beckett, it is wonderful to finally meet you."

"Please, I'm Jim, Mr. Castle. Katie has told me so much about you and your books for so long, I feel that I already know you."

"Well then, please call me Rick. This is my daughter, Alexis and you've met my mother."

"Your captain has been giving me daily updates on you both and Martha was kind enough to send a car for me today. The driver is waiting to take us homel, we should go."

"Nonsense! Come back to the loft and we'll have a celebration."

"Mother, that is very sweet but no! All I want to do is go home, get cleaned up and sleep in my own comfortable bed...I'm sure Detective Beckett's not up for a party, she has to work."

Captain Montgomery stepped forward at that point. "The doctor said that you need a few days off, so you are both on vacation until Monday. What no arguments, Detective?"

Kate was hugging Lanie, Esposito and Ryan. "No sir, no arguments."

"OK then, everybody go home! The Captain tried to stay stern but opened his arms to give Beckett a hug."

Lanie gave Kate a bag of clothes and she quickly disappeared behind the curtain to change.

Castle high-fived a happy Esposito and Ryan, he then hugged a weepy Dr. Parrish. He shook hands with the Captain. He turned around just as Beckett ran out from behind the curtain, she was now dressed in her usual jeans and a sweater. She came into Caste's arms for a hug. "I'll miss seeing you in nothing but scrubs...and having you all to myself." The hug kept getting longer and longer as Kate suddenly realized that she wouldn't see him for a few days. Neither wanted to let go but hearing a few chuckles and a teenage giggle, they slowly broke apart.

Martha shook her head in exasperation and stage whispered, "Will you please just kiss the girl."

Blushing, Kate walked back to her dad and turned to leave arm in arm with him and Lanie.

Castle shook his finger at Martha, who handed him a bag of clothes. Smiling, he dropped the bag and pulled her and Alexis into another hug. Once outside the room, Kate stopped and called out to him, "Hey Castle, see you Monday!" He turned, smiled and winked. "See you Monday, Detective!"

AN: This turned out much longer than I expected and I apologize if the ending seemed abrupt. As I said in the intro, this takes place at the end of season one. For all of those who wanted a steamy sex scene, we can only hope for one in season three. (PLEASE!) The last line in my story was a nod at the writers of the show, they wrote a wonderful cliffhanger that will keep everyone guessing until September.


End file.
